Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member and former CPIM Kerala state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (69) passed away at Appolo hospital Chennai. He was undergoing treatment for a while
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was born on November 16, 1953, in Kannur district. He Studied at Kodiyeri Oniyan High School, Mahatma Gandhi College, Mahe and University College, Trivandrum. He Joined CPI(M) in 1970. He Was Secretary of the Kerala State Committee of the SFI - Students' Federation of India and its All India Joint Secretary between 1973 and 1979. He was Imprisoned for 16 months under MISA during the internal emergency 1975-197.7. During 1980 to 1982 DYFI Kannur District President . He also served as the Secretary of the Kannur District Committee of the CPI(M)
He was Elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly on four occasions -- 1982, 1987, 2001, 2006 from Thalassery constituency. Was Dy. Opposition Leader in 2001
He also served as State Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha and a member of the AIKS Council. He was Elected to the Central Committee in 2003 and to the Polit Bureau at the 19th Congress in 2008
He served as Minister for Home and Tourism, Government of Kerala from 2006 to 2011
On 23 February 2015, he was elected as the Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kerala State Committee.He was re-elected for a second term as a State Secretary in 2018 and for a third term in March 2022. On 28 August 2022, he stepped down from the position due to failing health and was successed by M V Govindan।
